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http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/editors-letter-2158/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:06 +0000Ladd Dunwoodyhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2158Generally soft spoken and reserved, Brian Bowles may not be the first fighter that comes to mind when wondering “who is on the next cover of FIGHT!?” But the former WEC Bantamweight Champ’s demeanor is exactly what had us curious as to what made him tick. Bowles took a lot of flack when he surrendered [...]

]]>Generally soft spoken and reserved, Brian Bowles may not be the first fighter that comes to mind when wondering “who is on the next cover of FIGHT!?” But the former WEC Bantamweight Champ’s demeanor is exactly what had us curious as to what made him tick. Bowles took a lot of flack when he surrendered
his title to Cruz due to a broken hand or, if you ask his critics, a lack of heart. When asked if the barrage of ensuing trash talk bothered him, Brian nonchalantly shrugged it off, saying he didn’t realize there was so much talk about it and that he doesn’t pay any attention to what people say anyway. You can’t throw a stone without hitting someone that will tell you to ignore what other people think, but there are few that actually adhere to that advice. With Bowles, however, there is a matter-of-fact honestly that rings true. The fact that he chose not to continue the fight based on a pragmatic assessment of his situation while giving no weight to how he may be perceived, reveals an interesting layer to his character. Whether it’s the type of character that fans of “do or die” bravado can appreciate is something Managing Editor Jim Casey went to Athens to find out. Turn to page 56 to discover a little more about what went into building Brian Bowles and you may be surprised by what you find out.

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http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/puerto-power-2182/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:52 +0000Chuck Mindenhallhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2182Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez is one of the most compelling MMA fighters going, and you know what? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Eddie Alvarez has a unique niche in that he represents Philadelphia in the broader sense than the city’s earliest noteworthy combatants. Going back to the turn-of-the-century’s “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien—who The Ring’s founder/editor [...]

]]>Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez is one of the most compelling MMA fighters going, and you know what? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Eddie Alvarez has a unique niche in that he represents Philadelphia in the broader sense than the city’s earliest noteworthy combatants. Going back to the turn-of-the-century’s “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien—who The Ring’s founder/editor Nat Fleischer ranked as boxing’s No. 2 best all-time heavyweight—to Bernard Hopkins, who at 47 years old is the reigning WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, “The City of Brotherly Love” has had its share of bigger-than-life characters in the prize ring. This even extends to fictional characters—Rocky Balboa is synonymous with the fiber of the city.

Alvarez, though, is the first big-name martial artist to emerge. The times are changing, and Philly-brand pugilism has taken on layers. Remember when Hopkins likened MMA to “gay porn?” It was Alvarez who changed Hopkins’ perception, when B-Hop saw a Golden Boy recruit get his ass whipped in a sparring session by the MMA fighter. Alvarez inspires a specific kind of reverence, and it’s been a tough
paddle to where he’s at, as one of the best lightweights in the world.

*****

He got the bug to scrap growing up in the Kensington area of Philly—the same area that the original Rocky movie was filmed in—where he’d find himself in plenty of fisticuffs. He was shuttled to a Catholic school when the neighborhood got rough, but in fifth grade, he attended a local school to relieve the financial burden on his family. It was during that time that he’d stop in at the Front St. Boxing Gym and soak things in. He had some pedigree, already. His grandfather made it to the Pan-American games back in the day. His father, Louis, an orphan from Puerto Rico, was a fight game enthusiast and made sure there were speed and heavy bags to hit in the garage, and whenever Alvarez wanted, Louis would hold mitts for his son. Yet, this was all a strange racial netherworld for the young Alvarez, who was in a town that was in flux.

As a Puerto Rican descendant in a predominantly white area, the white kids would get in his face and make things tough on him. When Section 8 housing moved in, the Puerto Rican kids would get in his face because he was a white kid to them. In other words, Alvarez wasn’t enough of the one and was too much of the other, and this peeved just about everyone. So, he did what he had to. He threw up the dukes and started settling fools.

“I don’t put a whole lot of thought into it,” Alvarez says. “There’s really nothing I can do about my race. I grew up in an all-white neighborhood, and it kind of set me apart. It always made me different. My race always made me different from the kind of environment I was in. It got me into a lot of fights. I was in an all-white neighborhood and it got me called ‘spic’ a lot. So, I was in a lot of fights. But I’ve always been proud of who I was. A Puerto Rican heritage is very family-oriented, very open, and very loving.”

*****

At just 27 years old, Alvarez has emerged as one of the most talked about 155 pounders going, ranked as high as No. 2 or 3 on some lightweight lists. He is the current Bellator Lightweight Champion, and he has won seven in a row, including the title fight against Toby Imada. He treated UFC vet Roger Huerta as a modest challenge, and broke down upstart Pat Curran for five rounds. Alvarez is putting the Fight Factory on the map, and his name is mentioned among the kingpins of Zuffa’s stable, including his training partner and friend Frankie Edgar, who holds the UFC’s strap.

How? For one, he is a rare wrestling antidote. Athleticism and quick reflexes allow him to dictate a fight even against what has become MMA’s go-to discipline—wrestling. That’s why his next title defense, against Michael Chandler on Oct. 15 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is a match-up he likes. Whereas singlets put many fighters off, Alvarez sees them as smashing posts.

“Chandler is basically more of a college wrestler that is intrigued by MMA,” he says. “I wouldn’t yet call him an MMA fighter. I think he’s had like eight fights. So I think he’s a wrestler that is very excited about the sport of MMA. And he’s going to be successful because he’s bringing the same work ethic that he brought to college wrestling. However, he’s a great match-up for me.”

Alvarez can strike with the best of them, but he can also submit guys (he tapped four guys between Bellator 1 and Bellator 12). This translates to “well-rounded” territory. Even with an impressive résumé—and an overall record of 22-2—there are those who want to see him test himself against Zuffa brand names. After the Chandler fight, Alvarez will still have two fights on his contract with Bellator, and the promotion has first right of refusal when time for negotiations heats up in a year or so. What it means is that Alvarez won’t have any say in where he ends up, so don’t think he’s ducking anybody. He’s willing to fight anybody, anytime.

“If all goes well, I will finish out my contract, and it’s not going to be up to me,” he says. “What I can control right now is going out these next couple of fights and trying to put on fights that people want to see—exciting fights that are going to grab people and make people want to watch me. I can’t control what goes on a year from now, because the contractual things are not in my control. I can’t make the choice to go with Bellator or go to the UFC. In a year, that choice is going to be up to either Bellator or the UFC to bid on, because that’s the way my contract is written. It’s going to be up to the highest bidder. I can’t do anything about that, and I want people to understand that. People ask me ‘Why aren’t you going to the UFC?’—they talk as if I have the choice, but I really don’t.”

*****

Right now, he is fine with being a parallel champion with Edgar and wouldn’t want to put a crimp on that. If it came down to it, and the fight was inevitable, he says he would do it—but there are so many fights at 155 pounds in any promotion that he doesn’t see the need. However, there is one guy that he circled awhile back that still piques his interest, and that’s the current Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez.

The fight was discussed last summer as part of an open dialogue with cross-promotional fights between Strikeforce and Bellator. It didn’t materialize, but the idea stuck in the back of Alvarez’s mind.

“The only reason I think of fighting Gilbert is because I felt like I was close to getting that, and he had some sort of recognition at the time,” he says. “Gilbert was the highest ranked guy that I had the possibility to fight. So, that’s sort of what made me excited about the matchup. I was stupid to think that I could actually get it, in retrospect, but I really did think we’d be able to make that fight. I love that matchup, that style matchup. He rarely ever puts on boring fights. He takes some risks. And I like fighting guys like that, guys who fight to finish fights, not necessarily to win, but to finish. When I am out there, winning is important, but my main focus is finishing a guy. I want him to feel like he never wants to fight me again. I like fighting guys like that, who are smart about the way they do things. They aren’t stupid in their approach by just trying to please the fans, but they are just trying to finish.”

It’s all down the road for Alvarez, who is just as happy to defend that Bellator belt a few times first and let the chips fall where they may. Philly’s own is only coming into his prime, and he understands how fast that carpet can be taken out from under him in this game.

“This is a sport that’s very ‘What have you done for me lately?’” he says. “So, I’m going to keep my training up and stay excited and make this next year count. I could be worth what I am now and then shit tomorrow.”

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http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/the-man-comes-around-2188/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:25 +0000Jim Caseyhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2188BRIAN BOWLES IS TAKING NAMES It’s brutally hot in Athens, GA, so sitting on a stool in the air conditioning of The HardCore Gym is a welcome reprieve, even if the track blaring over the sound system is Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” You get the feeling that owners/coaches/brothers Adam and Rory Singer know every lyric. [...]

It’s brutally hot in Athens, GA, so sitting on a stool in the air conditioning of The HardCore Gym is a welcome reprieve, even if the track blaring over the sound system is Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” You get the feeling that owners/coaches/brothers Adam and Rory Singer know every lyric. They unwittingly hum along—Rah-rah-ah-ah-ahah—as a ripped bantamweight effortlessly hits the pads in the background.

Athens is just a small college town 71 miles east of Atlanta, and how the Singer brothers ended up here—displaced from their New York roots and operating The Hard-Core Gym—is another story. But, they are here, running a damn fine gym. It’s got its own cage, ample mat space, a bevy of bags, fitness equipment, and a bunch of guys with beards—including both Singers, coach Chad Shafer, and some dudes that could be homeless or just refusing to shave since all the hot girls from the University of Georgia aren’t back in town for fall semester just yet. At UGA—the 2011 Princeton Review #2 party school in the country—it’s cool to have a beard, even in the summer.

If The HardCore Gym sounds familiar, it might be because the UFC’s most famous world champion/author/runner got his start here—Mr. Forrest Griffin. However, Hard-Core has produced two world champions, and that’s where the ripped bantamweight who’s hitting the pads name comes up—or doesn’t come up for that matter, because not many people know who the hell he is.

His name is Brian Bowles. If you recognize Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Dominick Cruz, or Carlos Condit, Bowles should be no problem. He’s a former WEC Champion, too—and not back in the prehistoric, pre-Zuffa years. We’re talking 2009 and 2010. Yet, if you were holding your breath in anticipation of his appearance on the pay-per-view telecast at UFC 132 in July, you would be blue in the face, because he wasn’t one of the 10 fighters on the main card, nor was he one of the four fighters featured on the televised preliminary card on Spike TV. How’s that for a former world champ with a 10-1 record, nine freaking finishes, and four Fight Night bonuses in his last seven fights.

Now, it just so happens that his UFC 132 fight against Takeya Mizugaki is his only fight that has gone to a judges’ decision. Coincidence? Definitely. Bowles is a shrewd cat. Don’t let the union of a West Virginian/Georgian twang in his voice fool you. He knew that he was probably just one victory away from a title shot against UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz, who went on to best Urijah Faber in the main event that night. Bowles wasn’t just trying to get a win against Mizugaki, like so many other UFC fighters who value the ends over the means. That’s not how Bowles fights.

“I’m a natural finisher,” says Bowles. “But, those Japanese fighters are hard to sub. Mizugaki’s only been subbed once in 22 fights. I tried to sink in that rear-naked choke when I had his back, I just couldn’t get under his chin.”

Bowles got the unanimous decision win, but he didn’t get the title shot. Instead, it’s going to Demetrius Johnson, who won a controversial decision over Miguel Torres in May. Bowles was vacationing in Charleston, SC, when he found out the news via Twitter. He also found out who his next opponent was the same way.

“I saw that Rory [Singer] called, but I was chilling on vacation,” Bowles says. “The next thing I know, I’m getting all these Tweets about my new opponent—Urijah Faber.”

There’s an interesting fact in this subtext. Bowles never verbally accepted the fight against Faber because he didn’t actually answer Singer’s call, however, the fight was made.

The cheese dip at Sr. Sol Mexican Restaurant in Athens is the finest east of the Chattahoochee River. If Bowles’ coach Adam Singer knows anything, it’s cheese dip. His BJJ knowledge is a close second, as he’s a black belt under Roberto Traven. The cheese dip is more impressive at the moment, and Bowles and Singer are digging in.

“That’s chorizo sausage in there,” says Singer. “You could drink that stuff.” Bowles is a mini-celebrity in Athens, and the cheese dip was on the house. When a couple of passing girls give him a smile, it’s not so far fetched to think that Bowles and Faber have more in common than just their weight class. You’ve seen the women swoon after Faber. Do you think Faber gets free cheese dip in Sacramento, too? Probably.

Bowles is 14 weeks away from his fight with Faber at UFC 139 in San Jose, CA, on Nov. 19. He’s walking around at 144 pounds, so his weight is not an issue. Neither is his height. In fact, he’s been approximately this size since eighth grade. He peaked at 14 years old. Bowles pulls out his old driver’s license that he got when he was in high school. Sure enough, 5’6”, 135 pounds. He feels small right now and wants to pack on a couple of pounds because Faber is as solid as a cast iron fire hydrant. The burritos, chimichangas, and tacos are flowing. Sr. Sol has great green sauce, too. It’s got a little fire in it, and now the boys have made a concoction of chorizo cheese dip and green sauce. It looks like a serum that could turn Bruce Banner into the Hulk.

Bowles is a quiet guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s not confident. He knows exactly who he is in this world, and he doesn’t mind flying under the radar—and he doesn’t talk any shit to try and change that. Bowles just states facts in that interstate twang and gives a little grin. He’s funny…kinda like an actor who does a bunch of serious films, but then scores a comedy and you say to a friend, “Hey, did you see Christopher Walken on “Saturday Night Live” with a prescription for more cowbell?”

“They should call Faber ‘The Title Shot Kid’ instead of ‘The California Kid,’” Bowles says with a smile. “How many are they gonna give him? But at least Faber is a real fighter and not some jackass in a yellow jumpsuit hopping around on TUF acting like he’s a fighter.”

Bowles has mad respect for Faber’s skills, but he makes a good point. Four of Faber’s last eight fights have been for the title—and it’s four fights that Faber has lost. In fact, the winner of their scrap will get the next title crack at the winner of Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson.

“I love the way Faber fights,” he says. “He’s creative and he fights in the moment. He’s fast, strong, well-rounded. No holes in his game. He’s a very complete fighter. I like him as a person,and I really don’t have anything bad to say about him.”

Bowles knows firsthand many of the skills that Faber is bringing to the table when the Octagon door slams shut. He actually trained with Faber at Team Alpha Male for two weeks before his fight with Will Riberio in 2008. It’s a small world when you’re a small fighter. In a lot of ways, Bowles and Faber’s styles mirror each other. They both like to throw their hands and then lock in fight-ending guillotines or rear-naked chokes once they have felled their opponents.

“I’ve got a gameplan for Faber,” Bowles says with another smile. “And when I beat him, he should come hang out with me in Athens and have a good time.”

HOW THINGS ARE MADE

Bowles was born in Charleston, WV. His mom raised him. His dad wasn’t around. She worked odd jobs—even working for the coalmines. In fact, Bowles grandfather died of black lung. They were on welfare. It wasn’t the carefree life that children are supposed to have. Naturally, Bowles was an angry kid who turned to the streets and began fighting at a young age. You’ve heard that old chestnut before, except that’s not the case with Bowles. He wasn’t an angry kid. He just kept puttering along. World-class athletes are born this way, too.

When Bowles was 14 years old, his mom moved to Jefferson City, GA, to take a new job. Brian was enrolled at Jackson County High School where the high school wrestling coach noticed him getting off the bus. Nothing flashy here. Bowles wrestled for a few years and enjoyed it, placing in the state, but showing few signs of his future prowess.

High school graduation in 2000. No college. Police Academy. Jailer. Pepsi rep. Bowles meandered the next few years, working as a cop and then as a jailer in the pen. When he got sick of being around scumbags, he took a job as a Pepsi salesman. But those were just jobs. In 2004, one of Bowles’ old high school wrestling buddies—Stephen Ledbetter—decided to give jiu-jitsu a shot. He convinced Bowles to give it a go. Bowles was looking for something—something better than selling Pepsi or locking down criminals. He missed the competitive nature of life, of high school wrestling, of the grind. Enter Adam and Rory Singer.

How the Singers transformed Bowles into a world champion with less than five years of training is nothing short of a Rocky Balboa phenomenon. It’s virtually impossible to do. Bowles wasn’t a collegiate wrestler. He wasn’t a Golden Gloves boxer. He wasn’t a BJJer. He just became a fighter who can do all those things. He’ll out-wrestle (Charlie Valencia). He’ll out-strike (Miguel Torres). He’ll out-BJJ (Will Riberio).

“We built him from the ground up,” says Adam Singer. “He came in one day and started beating on the guys who were in our intermediate class, so we just kept adding pieces to the puzzle. Punch, choke, kick, takedown. Eventually, he became a monster.”

Bowles was like a miniature MMA Frankenstein that Adam and Rory were constructing inside the concrete walls of The HardCore Gym. Their first creation— The Forrest Griffin Project—had already relocated to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. The mad scientists needed a new specimen, and Bowles fit the bill, but the Singers weren’t the only ones interested in how to create a monster.

“I’m fascinated with how things are made,” says Bowles, as he sits next to the famous Arch on the UGA campus. It’s probably one of the reasons his favorite television show is Modern Marvels on the History Channel. “Have you seen the one on the logging industry? They built these huge flumes—a 50-mile flume in California in the 1800s—to shoot logs down the mountains and then chained all these logs together and floated them down to the Pacific. It’s insane how…”

Just then, another pretty girl walks by and smiles at Bowles, and the 31-year-old stops talking about logs, levels his right hand, and breaks out the famous Wooderson quote from “Dazed and Confused” about getting older and the girls staying the same age.

When the laugher subsides, Bowles’ leveled right hand becomes the focal point of the conversation, because it’s noticeably lacking a knuckle on the pointer finger. Quick: name a UFC bantamweight with knockout power. There aren’t many, but Miguel Torres would probably say Brian Bowles. A 3:1 underdog, Bowles KO’d Torres in their WEC Bantamweight Title fight in 2009. The defeat put an end to Torres’ 17-fight win streak and talk of his pound-for-pound proliferation. Bowles put himself on the map with that signature victory, proving that Torres was indeed human when the Georgian’s fists were dive-bombing onto his face. Brian had beaten the odds and the champ, but his title reign would be short-lived.

Bowles clenches his fists when the subject of Dominick Cruz comes up. It’s not that he dislikes Cruz—he dislikes the way Cruz fights. Some people think Cruz’s footwork and style is a thing of beauty. Others think Cruz is boring and avoids fighting by jumping around and backing up. Bowles is in the latter camp. It may have something to do with the fact that Cruz is the only man to defeat Bowles—a doctor’s stoppage after the second round of their title fight in 2010. Bowles took a lot of shit for the stoppage, because he didn’t protest it. Some fans think he just quit.

“I know what pain is like,” says Bowles. “I broke my left hand knocking out Miguel Torres in 2009. I thought I broke my hand against Mizugaki last month. When I shattered my right hand against Cruz on the first punch, bones were crunching around in there for two rounds. There wasn’t anything I could do. I couldn’t grab him. I sure as hell couldn’t punch with it. Not only was my whole gameplan shot, but the pain was radiating up my arm. I knew something was seriously wrong.”

HARDCORE REDEMPTION

And then, Bowles up and vanished like a shadow at high noon. The broken hand required surgery and then a foot injury sustained during training kept Bowles out of the cage for 12 months. While Bowles was being forgotten, Cruz was successfully defending the title against Joseph Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen.

“The year-long layoff was depressing,” Bowles says. “Training keeps my mind clear. I couldn’t train, I couldn’t do anything except sit around the house watching “Bonanza” reruns after my daily rehab. It was awful. I was losing my mind. I knew I was losing my fan base, too. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s the nature of the MMA beast.”

The one thing that Bowles had going for him—even if Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright couldn’t lift his spirits— was that he always had the guys at The HardCore Gym. Bowles reached the pinnacle of his sport with that victory over Torres in 2009. Other fighters who got their start at HardCore—including Forrest Griffin and heavyweight Todd Duffee— left small-town Athens behind in search of the $3.95 steak dinners and the world-class training in Las Vegas. However, Bowles never seriously entertained that thought. He’s a small-town guy. He likes living and training in Athens. He likes those cute Southern girls. He likes free cheese dip. He likes his coaches and training partners at Hardcore, who were stealthily masterminding his comeback after those arduous 12 months.

Step one was his déjà vu destruction of Damacio Page on March 3. The fight ended the exact same way their first crap ended in 2008—guillotine choke at 3:30 of round one. Bowles was back, and it felt good.

Step two was to get past Takeya Mizugaki on July 2, which he did with a unanimous decision win. Bowles had some gravitational momentum again, like the eight-fight-rolling-ball-of-butcher-knives win streak that he began his career with.

Step three is the highest profile fight of his career—against Mr. Faber on Nov. 19. The highest profile fight of any bantamweight or featherweight’s career is usually against Faber. The California Kid has mojo, the libido, the life force, the essence, the right stuff, what the French call a certain…I don’t know what. Bowles plans on stealing that mojo—Dr. Evil style.

Step four is exacting revenge on the man who currently has his bantamweight title—Dominick Cruz, who faces Demetrious Johnson on Oct. 1. If Johnson wins that fight, no problem. Bowles will be ready to take the title from him, too. However, he wants that Cruz fight back. There are certain things that gnaw on a man, and the Cruz fight gnaws on Bowles.

For now, Bowles is not looking past Faber. Bowles likes Faber. Bowles respects Faber. He also knows he can beat Faber. And he’s going to do that in San Jose on Nov. 19 as he walks out to the Octagon to the familiar sound of Johnny Cash singing “The Man Comes Around.” For this fight, the song seems appropriate for Bowles on many different levels—it’s the second coming of The Man on the biggest stage of his life. Bowles will be taking names, specifically Faber’s. The ripped, little Man will be the whirlwind in the thorn tree.

It’s the only way he will get the redemption that he seeks.

TEED OFF

Just how good of a natural athlete is Brian Bowles? Well, not that golf is the end-all-be-all of athletic barometers, but Bowles recently took up the pastime, and he’s doing pretty well.

“I started playing about a year ago, and I’m already beating the guys who taught me how to play,” says Bowles. “The last time out, I shot an 81. The game it great. I can train MMA in the morning, play 18 holes in the afternoon, and be back in the gym for my night session.”

You don’t see many bantamweight golfers on the pro tour, but when Bowles gets done pounding people’s heads inside the Octagon, maybe you’ll see him knocking a few balls around on the links.

They should call Faber ‘The Title Shot Kid’ instead of ‘The California Kid’ — How many are they gonna give him?

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http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/high-class-hottie-2185/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:25 +0000Bear Frazerhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2185Molly Qerim is a New York-based broadcaster who broke into MMA in 2008 as a segment host and correspondent on ESPN’s MMA Live. In 2010, Qerim joined the VERSUS nightly show The Daily Line. As part of the network gig, she also hosted the pre-fight and post-fight shows for the WEC. Most recently, Qerim was [...]

]]>Molly Qerim is a New York-based broadcaster who broke into MMA in 2008 as a segment host and correspondent on ESPN’s MMA Live. In 2010, Qerim joined the VERSUS nightly show The Daily Line. As part of the network gig, she also hosted the pre-fight and post-fight shows for the WEC. Most recently, Qerim was tapped for the first edition of UFC Central—the Zuffa produced online pre-fight and post-fight show for UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields.

In addition to her dazzling mixed martial arts broadcasting résumé, Qerim was the interactive host for ESPN’s College Football Live, the breaking news reporter for ESPN 2’s Fantasy Football Now, and she currently serves as a studio anchor for CBS Sports Network.

You have an extensive MMA broadcasting background. What has been your favorite memory so far?

Oh, I can’t pick one. There are too many. I got to see Anthony Pettis and that unbelievable kick. We [Ariel Helwani and Urijah Faber] were doing the pre- and post-fight show, and we interviewed Pettis after that fight. That was amazing. It was also really cool to cover UFC 100. I mean, the heavyweight championship bout on that card—Lesnar and Mir—and GSP was on that card, defending the welterweight
championship, and Henderson vs. Bisping. That was a historic night. I would say those two are very memorable nights.

Do you train in any of the fighting styles?

I’ve been training Muay Thai in New York and a little bit of jiu-jitsu, and I take some MMA conditioning classes with the guy who created the Rushfit DVDs with GSP. There’s a certain high I get from those workouts that I don’t get from anything else.

Out of all the various MMA disciplines, why do you like Muay Thai and BJJ?

I’ve always been into fitness and trying to challenge myself—work with trainers and that type of thing. I think being around the sport, it’s just that the passion grew, and I felt like it was an opportunity to increase my fitness level and understand the sport on a new level. Just with the little bit of jiu-jitsu I’ve done, I can tell you the difference of understanding what a guy is attempting to do, and also I think martial arts has such a positive impact on me mentally. It helps me stay calm and stay clear-headed.

Is there any chance we’ll ever see you compete in the cage?

If it were for a charity event, I’d totally do it. But that’s about it [laughs].

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I’m very introverted. Even though I’m totally comfortable talking in front of millions of people for my profession, I really keep to myself, and I’m very close to my family and just a few friends. It’s very hard for me to open up to people. I was raised that the only people you should trust is your family, so I guess I keep to myself.

What are some things you do for fun in your spare time?

My family is everything to me, and I’m lucky that they’re just a two-hour ride away. I have two sisters and they both have kids. My father is my best friend. I try to spend a lot of time with them. I love to go out to eat, and I love to cook. I love to cook for people—that’s always something I swear is therapeutic to me. Oh, and I watch a ton of sports. I love MMA, football, and basketball.

If you were to audition for MasterChef, what would be the signature dish that you’d feed Gordon Ramsay and the rest of the judges?

Something Mediterranean—probably salmon or chicken cutlets with some sautéed veggies. I cook very simply. I sauté vegetables in olive oil and add salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. I don’t really make anything too exciting, but that is the stuff that I love.

Are you cooking this food for a boyfriend these days?

I’m not dating anyone. People always tell me, ‘You work in sports and have access to so many people,’ and the thing is, I was raised to be able to take care of myself and to be independent. My dad told me a long time ago, ‘You never need to depend on a man or need to take money from a man.’ That stuck with me. I want to have a strong foundation before I do all that. I hope to have a big family—I love
kids—and when I do let that person into my life, I will treat him like a king. But I want to make sure the time is right.

Some women have a checklist in what they look for in a guy. Others just have a few details. What are some of the traits you look for in a man?

I definitely don’t have a checklist in terms of physical appearance. I think that’s so limiting. I can’t say, ‘Oh, I love guys with blue eyes’ or whatever. But I would say, in terms of character, definitely a God-fearing man—that’s number one. Somebody that is confident, ambitious, and driven, but at the same time, laid back and cool—and someone that I can have fun with because you’ve got to be able to laugh. You have to laugh through life. Oh, and definitely somebody that’s generous. They have to have a big heart.

What is your ultimate goal?

I want to continue to work in media—anchoring and reporting. I really love being behind the desk and hosting. I love covering sports, and if I can do that and have a family and my own charity, then I’d be a very happy woman.

Follow this happy woman on Facebook (Facebook.com/MollyQerim) and Twitter (@MollyQerim).

“I’M VERY INTROVERTED. EVEN THOUGH I’M TOTALLY COMFORTABLE TALKING IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FOR MY PROFESSION.”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/high-class-hottie-2185/feed/0Hall of Fame 2011http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/hall-of-fame-2011-2203/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/hall-of-fame-2011-2203/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:21 +0000FIGHT! Staffhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2203Major League Baseball has Cooperstown. Rock and Roll has Cleveland. MMA has FIGHT! Magazine. Ok, ok, so we’re not quite as prestigious as Neil Diamond belting out “Forever in Blue Jeans” this year, but great mixed martial artists needed a place where they could be lauded with the recognition they deserve, appreciated by fans around [...]

]]>Major League Baseball has Cooperstown. Rock and Roll has Cleveland. MMA has FIGHT! Magazine. Ok, ok, so we’re not quite as prestigious as Neil Diamond belting out “Forever in Blue Jeans” this year, but great mixed martial artists needed a place where they could be lauded with the recognition they deserve, appreciated by fans around the world, and honored for their accomplishments… and that’s why we created the FIGHT! Magazine Hall of Fame.

The process for inclusion into the Hall is simple: if you kick ass, come on in. Actually, it’s a little more complex. Voting is based on a fighter’s accomplishments, fighting ability, contributions to the evolution of MMA, impact on MMA, and record. To create our list of nominees, we polled a select group of MMA journalists from around the globe. Once our catalog of candidates was generated, journalists were asked to vote up to six times. Nominees needed to receive approval from at least 75% of the voting body.

When the votes were tallied for the 2011 Class, three names reigned supreme. Congratulations to Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Pat Miletich, living legends and members of the 3rd Annual FIGHT! Magazine Hall of Fame.

RANDY COUTURE

RECORD: 19-11

UFC 13 HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT WINNER

THREE-TIME UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

TWO-TIME UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

“That guy is my hero.” You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again. Randy Couture is a living legend in the sport of mixed martial arts. He’s made a career out of defying the odds, the bosses, and geriatrics. Since defeating up-and-comer Vitor Belfort at UFC 15.5 in 1996, 15 of Randy’s 21 fights in the Octagon were for the UFC Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight Championship. Couture’s focus, determination, and cerebral approach to the sport were known to make oddsmakers stroke-out on numerous occasions.

After a stellar career wrestling for the Army and Oklahoma State University, Couture cornered the market on dirty boxing, combining his ability to strike in the clinch with takedowns and dominant positioning to grind his way to one title after another. Sharing coaching duties for TUF 1 with Chuck Liddell, Couture’s mild demeanor and quiet confidence helped newcomers see the sport as legitimate. Serving as the anti-WWE stereotype to those expecting barbed wire cages and broken glass hand wraps, Couture was the shining example of normalcy in a sport not yet understood by mainstream America.

After dropping the last two fights of his trilogy with Liddell, Randy walked out of Mandalay Bay as a retired former champion, leaving behind an extraordinary career and a Hall of Fame legacy. Not even a year into retirement, 43-year-old Couture dusted off the four-ounce gloves to return for a heavyweight championship bout against massive Tim Sylvia. Seconds into the fight, Couture landed an inside leg kick followed by an overhand right that sent the giant tumbling to the canvas. Couture spent the next 24 minutes pummeling Sylvia and claimed yet another title in the UFC. Couture defended the title one more time against Gabriel Gonzaga before losing it to Brock Lesnar, after a well-documented yearlong dispute with UFC brass over the details of his contract.

“The Natural,” “Captain America,” “My Hero”—these are the names we have come to use when talking about our champion Randy Couture. Finishing his career with a string of wins, including a one-sided spanking of boxing great James Toney, before dropping his final bout in dramatic fashion to Lyoto Machida, Couture retired for the second time at the tender age of 48 with plans to move on to bigger and better things. Having gained traction with his acting career after a significant role in The Expendables, Couture will again be coming to a theater near you, having roles in five major motion pictures currently in pre- and post-production. In addition, his clothing line and MMA training facility Xtreme Couture are keeping fighters and pacifists clothed in designer threads.

PAT MILETICH

RECORD 29-7-2

UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION 10/16/98–5/4/01

UFC 16 LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT CHAMPION

In a small, nondescript building on the outskirts of Bettendorf, Iowa, Pat Miletich built a mixed martial arts empire around a hard-nosed style of training and plenty of sparring. Churning out champions like an assembly line, “The Croatian Sensation” racked up titles with Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) fighters Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, and Robbie Lawler. Before Greg Jackson, before Firas Zahabi, before “Crazy” Bob Cook, there was Miletich—and he was laying it down.

Born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, Miletich began training for MMA at 26 years old. Undefeated in 15 fights, a broken nose at the hands of Matt Hume gave Miletich his first loss. However, it’s hard to keep a good man down, and eight fights later, Miletich defeated Mikey Burnett at UFC 17.5 to become the first UFC Lightweight Champion (200 lbs and under). It wasn’t until five fights later, and a name change for the weight class (welterweight), that Miletich relinquished his UFC title to Carlos Newton at UFC 31.

Switching gears to focus on developing his stable of up-and-coming fighters, MFS became the premier training location in the country. Fighters flocked to train with The Croatian Sensation, and for good reason. As many as three UFC champions could be found training with Miletich on any given day. His coaching dominance led to a head-coaching job for the IFL Quad City Silverbacks, where Miletich and his stable won two team championships.

Since the recent explosion of popularity within mixed martial arts, Miletich has made a name for himself as one of the premier commentators in the sport. Years of fighting and coaching experience give him a level of insight and a knack for predictions that few analysts possess. Miletich has called fights for a number of promotions, and he has been a frequent host for ESPN’s MMA Live, as well as a guest commentator for HDNet’s Inside MMA.

Miletich has served as one of the Founding Fathers of mixed martial arts. His tenure as UFC champion laid ground for Team MFS, which helped bring team training camps to the forefront of the industry. His work as one of the pioneers of the sport should never be forgotten, and for that, we are proud to include The Croatian Sensation in our Hall of Fame.

CHUCK LIDDELL

RECORD: 21-8

UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION 4/16/05–5/26/07

UFC EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS FC DEVELOPMENT

So, you wanna be a Hall of Famer? There’s the signature mohawk, the head tattoo, the iconic “Iceman” victory pose, and the storied career that includes 13 brutal KO and TKO wins over the likes of champions such as Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem, and Vitor Belfort… and that’s just Chuck Liddell’s fighting career.

Liddell’s fighting style represented another step forward in the evolution of mixed martial arts. A wrestler from an early age, Liddell used brilliant takedown defense along with BJJ fundamentals and a highly developed kickboxing game to masterfully execute his single-focus gameplan of Sprawl-n-Brawl. Over the course of his 10-year career, Liddell kicked and punched his way to the top of one of the toughest divisions in the short history of the sport.

After coaching The Ultimate Fighter 1 reality show, Liddell became a household name when he separated Randy Couture from consciousness to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. With mainstream America still spinning from the excitement of the reality show, the media frenzy that followed was more than Dana White could have imagined. Fast-forward six years to the present and you’ll find that Liddell’s rocker-like status is cemented into pop culture. Highlights include
appearances on HBO’s Entourage and MTV’s Punk’d and a stint on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. Liddell made guest appearances on every late night show known to man, and he performed numerous interviews with 24-hour news networks about the safety of mixed martial arts. His time as the UFC LHW Champ was split between training, promoting, and speaking as an advocate for his sport.

Loved by most and feared by all, Liddell’s arch nemeses include Tito Ortiz, Vernon “Tiger” White, late-night clubbing, and Nyquil (YouTube “Chuck Liddell Good morning Texas”). Many years from now, when our grandchildren are talking about the greatest fighters to ever step into the Octagon, you can rest assured that if Liddell is not listed in that debate, then those who are will still be thanking the Iceman for all that he did to bring MMA to mainstream America.

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/hall-of-fame-2011-2203/feed/0MMA Planethttp://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-planet-2172/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-planet-2172/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:50 +0000FIGHT! Staffhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2172BRINGING COUNTRIES TOGETHER, ONE BEATING AT A TIME. HAM IT UP If you’re headed to Nottingham, England, for the ADCC Submission World Championship on September 24, roll over to Birmingham and let black belt Braulio Estima tie you in a knot at his new Gracie Barra Gym after he takes on Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in [...]

If you’re headed to Nottingham, England, for the ADCC Submission World Championship on September 24, roll over to Birmingham and let black belt Braulio Estima tie you in a knot at his new Gracie Barra Gym after he takes on Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a superfight. If you’re near Bristol, make sure to check out Gracie Barra Bristol (graciebarrabristol.com) where FIGHT!’s very own Paul Thatcher has been found while vacationing across the pond.

CLICK, CLICK, BOOM

Shootor’s Legacy 4 hits Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 23. Sengoku 2010 Welterweight Grand Prix winner Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura is set to meet Akihiro Murayama as part of the main event.

JUMP AROUND

Kangaroos aren’t the only boxers in Australia. If you want a chance to scrap with some blokes, take a little vacation to Sunnyback, Queensland, Australia, and check out House of Pain Boxing. After pounding the pads with 20-year coach Beven “Chiccy” Henry, hit the beach for some fun in the sun. Email Houseofpainboxing@live.com for more info.

SINGAPORE SLING

Former UFC welterweights Phil Baroni and Yoshiyuki Yoshida will lock horns at One Fighting Championship in Kallang, Singapore, on Sept. 3. Also in action is self-proclaimed ronin Andy “The Warrior” Wang of TUF 5 infamy. The event will be broadcast throughout Asia by ESPN Star Sports and MediaCorp.

IF YOU WILL IT, DUDE

DREAM 17 is set for Sept. 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. In addition to featuring opening-round bouts of the Bantamweight World Grand Prix, Shooto vet Takeshi Inoue will meet Caol Uno in a featherweight matchup. The event will also utilize three, five-minute rounds instead of an opening 10-minute round followed by a five-minute round.

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-planet-2172/feed/05 Minutes With Kenny Florianhttp://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/5-minutes-with-kenny-florian-2175/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/5-minutes-with-kenny-florian-2175/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:42 +0000RJ Cliffordhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2175You’re a UFC fighter, gym owner, ESPN analyst, and constant Twitterer (@kennyflorian)—how much free time do you have each day? Not a whole lot. I have time between my training sessions to rest and decompress a little bit. I’m not really able to watch as much TV or do as many things or go as [...]

]]>You’re a UFC fighter, gym owner, ESPN analyst, and constant Twitterer (@kennyflorian)—how much free time do you have each day?

Not a whole lot. I have time between my training sessions to rest and decompress a little bit. I’m not really able to watch as much TV or do as many things or go as many places as I’d like to. I love it. That’s the crazy thing. I’d rather be training more than anything else.

What’s the one thing that you wish you could do more?

I’d like to hang out with girls a little bit more than I do. I usually just hang out with guys [laughs]. Hot supermodels—I wish I had more time to hang out with supermodels. I definitely have to work that into my schedule.

You’re now a featherweight—everyone probably assumed a supermodel was helping you cut weight.

Yeah [laughs], I’m on the Kate Moss diet.

Speaking of featherweights, you face José Aldo for the title at UFC 136 on Oct. 8. Is this the biggest fight of your career?

Without a doubt. I’ve faced a lot of tough guys in my career, and this is one of those fights I get to use my experience and put it all together and become champion. That’s what I’ve been working for. I absolutely believe that this will be the toughest fight of my life.

You’ve experienced 16 fights in the UFC. Which one is your favorite?

I don’t know. I hate all of my fights. Actually, one of the losses. The loss I had to Sean Sherk was one of the fights where—even though I was tremendously out-experienced—I still went five rounds. It was a bloody war, and it was kind of my acceptance into the UFC. It pushed me to new levels. It really drove me to train harder and harder every fight.

What’s the biggest misconception that people have about fighters?

That it is mindless—that there is not a lot of strategy involved, that there is not a lot of intelligence, that there is not a lot of technique. Some people think that we just go out there and start throwing punches and it’s just random violence. That’s one of the things that angers me the most.

In your fight against Drew Fickett in 2004, Dana White was scouting him for a shot at The Ultimate Fighter, but he was so impressed by your performance that he went with you instead. Do you ever wonder what your life would be like had you never caught the eye of the UFC president?

I definitely believe I would not be fighting in the UFC, because at that time, I had no intention of being a fighter. I really just did MMA to test my BJJ skills. It was just something I did for fun as a new test, a new challenge. I was more into the grappling aspect of the martial arts. It wasn’t until I lost in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter that I decided to try and do this.

Do you think being stereotyped as a smart, hardworking fighter is a dig at your athletic abilities?

I think people sleep on my athletic ability a little bit, but I think it all comes down to the mind. Some people will fold when they face hard times. There have been studies on people who are naturally talented, and the first time they meet failure in their life, they just fold and don’t know how to handle it. They end up becoming failures because of that—because they’ve been talented their whole life. Both my dad and mom instilled a good work ethic in me. By no means did I come from a poor family or anything like that. But, my parents always taught me that I had to work for what I wanted. They weren’t going to hand it to me. My dad had it tough, my mom had it tough. They came from Peru, and they had to work for their success, and they wanted to do the same for us. It came down to working harder than everyone else. My dad has said it since the beginning. As a foreigner coming in as a physician, he had to be twice as good as everyone else, work twice as much as everyone else if he wanted to get the business or get a certain job. He basically instilled that in us. We have to outwork everybody. There is always going to be someone better than you, but there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to outwork someone, and that’s something I’ve always tried to carry with me.

Thanks, Kenny. Good luck outworking José Aldo on Oct. 8.

“There is always going to be someone better than you, but there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to outwork someone”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/5-minutes-with-kenny-florian-2175/feed/0Did You Know?http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/did-you-know-2-2161/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/did-you-know-2-2161/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:28 +0000FIGHT! Staffhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2161COOL KNOWLEDGE FROM THE WORLD OF MMA VOLUNTEERED INFO Mixed martial artists who have spent some of their formidable years growing up in the great state of Tennessee include Quinton Jackson (Memphis), Mike Pyle (Dresden), Muhammed Lawal (Murfreesboro), Gray Maynard (Murfreesboro), and Waylon Lowe (Jefferson City). CUBS WIN Cub Swanson became the first fighter to [...]

Mixed martial artists who have spent some of their formidable years growing up in the great state of Tennessee include Quinton Jackson (Memphis), Mike Pyle (Dresden), Muhammed Lawal (Murfreesboro), Gray Maynard (Murfreesboro), and Waylon Lowe (Jefferson City).

CUBS WIN

Cub Swanson became the first fighter to utilize Zuffa’s $50,000 customized insurance coverage when he suffered an orbital, cheek, and jaw fracture during a sparring session in July.

ROGUE HOST

Joe Rogan will reprise his role as the host of NBC’s Fear Factor beginning in September. The UFC color commentator called the shots on the audacious show from 2001 to 2006.

HUNG JURY

Team Quest litigants and former teammates Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland have wrestled each other four times in competition, with the series knotted at 2-2.

DAN OVERBOARD

Daniel Cormier’s dream job is to be a crab fisherman captain on The Deadliest Catch.

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/did-you-know-2-2161/feed/0They Said Thathttp://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/they-said-that-2-2164/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/they-said-that-2-2164/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:28 +0000FIGHT! Staffhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2164VERBAL JAMBALAYA GUARDIAN ANGEL “I’m so cool that my swagger has sideburns & a mustache, on a side note, it also pays child support.” —Miguel Torres on Twitter. PRODIGIOUS COJONES “When your chi is down, you feel weak, and I’m sure it’s an easy way out to do all the testosterone and stuff, but I [...]

“So the guy who has my old cell number is now impersonating me and being a total perv and ass to people who call looking for me…what can I LEGALLY do to him?”

—Jens Pulver on Facebook.

LATER GATOR!

“Yeah, I’d go gator hunting with the guys on Swamp People. A lot of times, they put the subtitles on people speaking English at the bottom of the screen. I always love that. But if I were to go down that way and somebody said, ‘Hey, we’re going gator hunting today. You wanna go with us?’ I’d be like, ‘Let’s do this. I’m all for it.’

—Rich Franklin to FIGHT! on his sense of adventure.

USE THE FORCE

“I haven’t had to deal with many negative things in my career. Now, I see, ‘You suck. You lost to Tito.’”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/they-said-that-2-2164/feed/0The Battle of New Orleanshttp://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/the-battle-of-new-orleans-2178/
http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/the-battle-of-new-orleans-2178/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:13 +0000TR Foleyhttp://mag.fightmagazine.com/?p=2178Haw, haw, haw—the UFC finally makes a return to “The Big Easy.” New Orleans is a pride-filled American city that is back on its feet…and that’s just where Dana White wants the fans in Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Sept. 17 for UFC Live: Shields vs. Ellenberger. The Fans Miami. Los Angeles. Vegas. All [...]

New Orleans is a pride-filled American city that is back on its feet…and that’s just where Dana White wants the fans in Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Sept. 17 for UFC Live: Shields vs. Ellenberger.

The Fans

Miami. Los Angeles. Vegas. All of these cities are filled with TapouT t-shirts and guys in board shorts. New Orleans is filled with linen shirts and paunch bellies. As a sport and lifestyle, MMA hasn’t quite taken hold in the Crescent City. However, according to Jeff Duncan—a sports writer for The Times-Picuyane for the past 11 years—the MMA lifestyle could be taking hold with the city’s changing demographic.

“The UFC can definitely make inroads here,” says Duncan. “They must see the same marketing potential that the NBA now sees in New Orleans. The city is filled with entrepreneurial 20-somethings, all with disposable income and interest in sports. Just wait 10 years—I think it can be a major sports city.”

The Fighters

Pat Barry and Melvin Guillard are two of the most outspoken—and entertaining—fighters in the UFC, and they both call New Orleans home. Melvin Guillard’s seven-year stint in the UFC is finally starting to show signs of rocketing north after a solid streak of wins over top contenders. Barry, the converted kickboxer known for his witty retorts and dangerous limbs, is a fan-favorite. Both are street-tough and the type of fighters that the UFC hopes will continue to emerge from New Orleans.

The Soul

The 1892 world heavyweight boxing match between “Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan and “Gentleman” James J. Corbett was held at the Olympic Club in New Orleans and was one of the most important events in combat sports history. The fight was held under the Marquess of Queensbury rules, which stated that competitors must wear gloves and that rounds must be limited to three minutes each—although there was no limitation on the numbers of rounds. In addition, it was the first fight to be held indoors under electrical lights at the Olympic Club Arena, packing in 10,000 fans.

The Story

UFC Live will be the seventh time that the UFC has marched into Louisiana, but the first since 2000, which means that this will be the debutante ball of the Zuffa-owned UFC in the bayou. The UFC’s first appearance in Louisiana took place at UFC 16 in 1998, which marked the “meteoric” rise of play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg, as he was in the booth for the first time, calling the action with guest commentator Tank Abbott.

BIG EASY LIVING

When UFC Lightweight Melvin Guillard gets back to his New Orleans hometown, he’s sure to hit his five favorite places.

• FRENCH MARKET—six blocks of retail shops, live performances, restaurants, cafes, and a flea and farmer’s market.